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Trending: Transforming Kitchens into Comfortable Living Spaces
The kitchen is often one of the most utilitarian rooms in a home, but it doesn't have to be. Current trends are re-popularizing the idea of the cozy kitchen, a place where you'd feel just as comfortable spending time as your living room or bedroom. Our real estate agents have loved watching this trend evolve and spread over time. Here are their tips for creating a kitchen that invites you to sit down and stay a while.
- Keep Things Cohesive
It's easy to blur the lines between your kitchen and living room with some clever styling. Use a similar color scheme and furniture style in each space to make them feel more like a single continuous room. If possible, use the same flooring in both rooms to further reinforce this illusion. This approach works best in open floor plans like those in many of our Great Neck homes for sale, but it can work well in just about any home—even those with a hallway between the two rooms. - Tie Things Together with Accent Colors
If you don't want to style your living room and kitchen the same way, there's something else you can do to achieve a similar effect. Using the same accent colors in your kitchen and your living room creates a subtle sense of continuity between the two places. Use a warm color like red, gold, or terracotta to bump up the cozy vibes even more. - Use Rounded Shapes
Typical kitchen design is all about clean, angular shapes. This look makes the room feel more sterile and functional than warm and relaxed. If the second vibe is more your style, bring more rounded elements into your kitchen. These can be as dramatic as a sweeping archway or curved countertops or as simple as a few curved or rounded fixtures. - Add Upholstery
Adding soft, colorful upholstery to your kitchen is a great way to instantly make it feel more inviting. If you have the space and budget, consider adding an upholstered banquette to your dining area. Upholstered chairs and stools will do for those with more limited budgets. You can even use seat cushions and slipcovers to mimic upholstery on seating that doesn't already have it. - Lay Down a Rug
Laying down an area rug somewhere in your kitchen softens the look of those gleaming bare floors and signals that the space receives a lot of foot traffic during a typical day. Place yours underneath your dining area, running parallel to your countertop workstations, or right in the middle of all the action. Choose dark-colored or mid-tone rugs that will be easier to clean when things inevitably get spilled on them. - Don't Forget Decor Items
Most of the items in a traditional kitchen are strictly functional, emphasizing that it's a space meant exclusively for food prep. Turn this paradigm on its head by filling your kitchen with the same decor items you'd find in other parts of your home. Whether it's a shelf full of your favorite cookbooks or some houseplants on a table by the kitchen window, these additions will liven up the space and encourage you to spend more time there. - Don't Worry About Matching
The coziest kitchens look less like interior design showrooms and more like real lived-in spaces. Let go of the idea that all the elements in your kitchen need to match each other. Don't be afraid to display Grandma's old china dishes or that cool footstool you found at the thrift store, even if they technically don't go with the rest of your design. These unique elements put a personal touch on the space and help it feel more connected to the other parts of your home.
If you just can't get your kitchen to feel as welcoming as you want, it may be time for a change. Our team can help you find a home with a kitchen space you can make into the cozy retreat you've always wanted. Contact us today to get started.
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